binging food addiction

[Casey]

I've wondered about artificial sweeteners too and I'm trying to reduce/ minimize artificial sweeteners to see if it affects the binge pattern. I think it's more hormonal because it seems cyclical, but artificial sweeteners might trigger an episode.

[Beeb]

I started the 5:2 diet last Monday and I have FINALLY gotten rid of the binge monster that came about doing JUDDD!

And I'm not over eating on the days I can and that is even better!!

[Biochic]

Is this a 5 day low carb 2 day up routine? I had a friend who was very strict with herself during the week and on the weekends she ate anything she wanted. She was always thin!

[shirlc]

Originally Posted by Beeb

I started the 5:2 diet last Monday and I have FINALLY gotten rid of the binge monster that came about doing JUDDD!

And I'm not over eating on the days I can and that is even better!!

Happy for you, Beeb! That binge monster is the worst!!!

[Casey]

I tried JUDDD for 2 weeks and down days low blood sugar triggered a binge or near-binge. February is almost over and I had only 2 or 3 "bad" days. With supplements I don't feel like I'm white-knuckling thru the feelings.

[Casey]

I just googled the 5:2 diet - I couldn't "feast" for 5 days and eat 500'calories on fast days. It says that you won't over eat on fast days because your body will be satisfied - but for me five days of free eating would be a tough pattern to break. I will be interested to see how you do.

[Beeb]

Originally Posted by Casey

I just googled the 5:2 diet - I couldn't "feast" for 5 days and eat 500'calories on fast days. It says that you won't over eat on fast days because your body will be satisfied - but for me five days of free eating would be a tough pattern to break. I will be interested to see how you do.

It didn't work for me! Well, it did for the first 3 weeks and then I started binging again!! IF diets are NOT good for me it seems, so I'm taking a rest, trying to get the darn binging under control again and looking around to find a way to lose this 22 pounds I gained from the IF WOE I have done!

[Beeb]

Originally Posted by Biochic

Is this a 5 day low carb 2 day up routine? I had a friend who was very strict with herself during the week and on the weekends she ate anything she wanted. She was always thin!

I just read about this and for me this is a road to destruction again!! I can see me binging and eating ALL WEEKEND LONG to make up for what I "couldn't" eat during the week!

Not good!

[Biochic]

Originally Posted by Beeb

I just read about this and for me this is a road to destruction again!! I can see me binging and eating ALL WEEKEND LONG to make up for what I "couldn't" eat during the week!

Not good!

Not for me either but she was able to manage it

[Beeb]

Night Eating Syndrome Or NES!

Just started this thread because it was determined today by a profession that this is what I have, which causes binging behavior at night!

I'm reading all I can to see what I can do about this instead of being medicated! I WILL find an answer but I know dieting with a IF WOE is NOT the answer at all! Anything "restrictive" causes problems for those of us with this type of behavior, especially when we have to restrict calories or eat so much less every other day or a few times a week. Eating breakfast and have a stop eating time at night seems to be tools that work for many.

[Biochic]

Hi Beeb. What is IF?
Glad you have a diagnosis. I suppose like anything else you need to know what you're dealing with before u can fix it

[Beeb]

Originally Posted by Biochic

Hi Beeb. What is IF?
Glad you have a diagnosis. I suppose like anything else you need to know what you're dealing with before u can fix it

IF is intermittent fasting WOE like JUDDD, 5:2, 8 Hour Diet. These types of WOE seem to be big triggers for eating disorders.

Yes, I happy today too that at least I have a real name to my demon!

[Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Biochic

Jeanie-
I have been there many times myself. That lose of control is so devastating to the psyche.

I have to agree. I did not write for short time here. I started low carbs to live healthy but I started eat more because I indulge cream, heavy cheese and butter which I have not been eating for long time.
I found myself to look for food which I enjoy as sweeteners stevia. But I always wanted to be strong and do not drink decaff coffee but drink healthy green tea to build up my self confidence.

[Gladiator]

Originally Posted by Casey

I've wondered about artificial sweeteners too and I'm trying to reduce/ minimize artificial sweeteners to see if it affects the binge pattern. I think it's more hormonal because it seems cyclical, but artificial sweeteners might trigger an episode.

Casey, I think for people who get food addiction is not good to use sweeteners. I got the addiction.

[MaryMary]

I just glanced through these pages on binging. I know when I am bingeing, it is no different than the alcoholic who is on a bender.

In the last 12 years, I noticed that when I turned to food as the way to numb my feelings, it was because I was Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. I had huge resentments and my first reactions to life was to turn to food, it really didn't matter what kind of food. There was never enough food to satisfy me. I know when I stay away from certain foods, it helps but it is not the solution.

Eventually, I was referred to a gal from these pages that did a 12 step program for low carb eaters and I started that in 2003. It is similar to the sort of program that an alcoholic would use. They believe that this is the same disease...it is just a different substance. Different 12 step groups advocate different food plans, but they all work the same steps. I checked out all the ones I could find and went back to the one the gal from LCF was in because it was easy to follow.

It helped me stop the cycle of binging, so the disease could go into remission. But just as you all testify, the disease isn't cured. The binging cycle can reoccur with a vengenance. It happened to me in 2011, when I decided I could eat like I used to. My memory was short and I forgot why I started doing this to begin with. Eating the sugars and grains sets off an allergic reaction, where I instantly retained fluid and it puts pressure on my brain. Within 3 weeks, panic attacks had returned. They had been gone for 9 years. Within 7 weeks, I had gained back 32 lbs. I think I finally reached rock bottom. I hope so. I don't want to have to repeat the exercise again and again.

But things I can do to protect this from happening is to take care of myself by following my food plan, working the steps, calling my sponsor and doing service so that others know there is hope. In the steps I came to believe that a Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity. For me it was the Energy of the Universe and the groups I belonged to, this LCF included, along with the folks I met through the 12 step group on phone meetings. Some folks believe it is God. It can be my Higher Self, but it is something I know is always gonna be there for me.

If anyone is curious, read the Big Book of A A and substitute the word food for alcohol. See if you relate to any of it. If you have any questions, send me a message.

[jeaniem]

Mary
Could you explain how the phone thing works? Thanks

[MaryMary]

There is a phone number with a PIN #. The meetings are at different times during the day and night, 7 days a week. They try to cater to all time zones. It is free. In the beginning, I listened to the speakers and the folks who shared. Some meetings can have over a 100 people listening and others are smaller. The person who is leading the meeting has 90 days of abstinence, that means they followed the food plan and called their sponsor every day as well as eating 3 meals a day with nothing in between except no calorie drinks. They all do the same food plan and follow the same abstinence definition. Many of us started over more than once. but when you get to the point where you have tried just about everything and are so frustrated that nothing lasts for very long, many of us have ended up in a 12 step program.

I don't count carbs, calories, protein, fat or fiber. Even though I know how my food plan breaks down. That was the first thing I did was key it into an online calculator to see if it was low carb enough for me. It was. The challenge is when you are at maintenance, for some for the first time in their lives, accepting that I am not dieting any more. You are simply learning to live your life and getting to live your life in a normal (not a specific number) sized body but in a range of say five pounds allowing for normal fluctuations. Weight is no longer the subject of conversation. It is said you will have a life second to none. I feel like my life today is nothing like it was in 2001.

I owe it all to all of the people I have met along the way who helped me when I was down and listened when I was frustrated and held my hand when I was having a hard day. You were all my Higher Power. The Energy that is here and inside me is life giving.

[jeaniem]

B: 4 oz protein, 8 oz fruit
L: 4 oz protein, 8 oz raw veggie, 8 oz cooked veggie, 1/2 oz fat
L: 4 oz protein, 12 oz raw veggie, 8 oz cooked veggie, 1 & 1/2 oz fat

Is this the plan?

[MaryMary]

It is similar to that...simple...we do get some extras and not all proteins are 4 oz. at night I have a 16 oz salad. I can have 2 oz optional tomato product at any of the meals like salsa or spaghetti sauce. I can have optional sesame seeds (like tahini or roasted sesame) or ground flax seed at lunch and dinner. We have some very creative ways for preparing the food.

Bottomline it is just a food plan. I work it with a sponsor and a program of supportive people that help me with working the steps. I have some perimeters and structure. It is not for everyone but works for me.

Unrelated to this, I came across a list of questions that someone I know put together regarding binging. We have permission to share it. We might think that having a binge is just an impulse to romanticizing the drink or a specific food but there is a lot of thought that goes into jumping off the wagon and into the pit again. Please substitutue the word eat for drink, bag for bottle, box for case... you get the idea. The questions are interchangeable..Here they are...

Should I eat now?
Now?
Now?
Later?
Soon?
Now?
Should I get a bag?
A box?
A bag and a box?
Two bags and a box?
Two boxes and a bag?
Should I get the discount brand?
The medium brand?
The luxury brand?
Do I get the small serving?
The large serving?
The family size?
The restaurant size?
Do I take the money from my savings?
From my rent?
From my child's education fund?
Do I go get it?
Do I have it delivered?
Do I go to my favorite store?
A store I've never been to?
Do I buy other stuff to hide what I'm doing?
Do I buy one binge worth?
Do I buy enough to last all night?
Do I hide it from my spouse or partner?
Do I do it out in the open?
Do I do it at home in case I pass out?
What if I pass out while driving and kill someone or myself?
Is my will written out?
How do I cancel my plans for today?
How do I cancel my plans for tonight and tomorrow?
How do I cancel the next few years?
How do I deal with the physical pains of poisoning my body?
What will I do when my pants won't button?
What do I do about these boils on my body?
How do I control the profuse sweating?
What about this body odor?
How do I hide my self-loathing?
How do I tell my sponsor and sponsees?
How do I tell my family and friends?
What if I tried WW again?
What if I tried Jenny Craig again?
What if I tried a regular 12 step program again?
What if I could get an exorcism?
What if I prayed harder?
What if god hates me?
What if I don't deserve to live?
What if I don't pick up?
What if I eat my next weighed or measured meal?
What if I wake up abstinent?
What if I have another day of dignity?
What if I keep the plug in the jug?
What if I cry right now?
What if I scream right now?
What if I get past this moment?
What then?

Compared to this, a commitment to 3 W&M meals a day sounds pretty darned easy.

[jeaniem]

Yes a commitment does sounds easier than what I am doing now and eating well makes me feel wonderful, but it's not enough. I fear more commitment may only make me more food obsessed.

[MaryMary]

I just read a quote that said "Miracles start to happen when you give as much Energy to you dreams as you do to your fears."

[jeaniem]

MaryMary
Do you do face to face meetings? Are you a sponsor? Thank you

[Gladiator]

Help help help

I do my eating plan for next day regulary. But yesterday I ate my lunch for today. I baked a cheesecake. It was so tasty I ate it at 10.30pm after I felt bad about it. Maybe I was too tired to control myself but the point is that I made a plan and I did not stick on it.

Ok, you can not hold my hand to keep me away unplanned food but I will try today. I had already my dinner. Next food could be 6.45 or later. Cross your finger to me.

[MaryMary]

Jeanie, There are some face to face meetings about an hour from my house and I have gone on occasion. I have gone to AA meetings as they give a great message and there are more of them. But mostly I attend phone meetings. We have them 7 days a week, 24 hrs a day. I am a sponsor.

[Casey]

Quote: I do my eating plan for next day regulary. But yesterday I ate my lunch for today. I baked a cheesecake. It was so tasty I ate it at 10.30pm after I felt bad about it. Maybe I was too tired to control myself but the point is that I made a plan and I did not stick on it.

Ok, you can not hold my hand to keep me away unplanned food but I will try today. I had already my dinner. Next food could be 6.45 or later. Cross your finger to me.[/QUOTE]

Gladiator.... Every time I see your posts it's like I'm hearing my own voice. I plan and plan and stay on the path... And then it's like another person takes over control of my brain and I binge. I don't understand it, but try to manage it. Just wanted you to know that I relate to your struggles.

[Bella]

I overate fatbombs on Tuesday, so I am not making any more a few days. If I do that again, they are just going off my list.

I am not sure I am a food addict, but borderline at least. I agree with Mary about parellels with alcohol for some of us. Right now I couldn't manage on the diet Mary is on, but I used to think I couldn't do without alcohol but I have gone two years without until hitting the slippery slope and have now done a month without. It's easier this time, but food is still challenging because I can't avoid it completely.

For now I am doing low carb, high fat, medium protein and avoiding all sweetners, including artificial. Glad, I am wondering if the cheesecake was just so tasty you should swap it out for something that is not quite so tasty? The fatbombs I over ate were butter, CO, and almond butter. No sweetener but they still tasted like heaven to me and during a very stressful day I ate way too many. My thinking is was better that a carb blowout, but I know I can't afford that very often.

[MaryMary]

Bella, actually, usually leople, who try what I do usually say they can't eat all that food. It is very filling. By the way, to me it is not diet, it is just the way I have been eating for over 10 years and after my most recent experience in the hospital getting the face list, i talked with doctors and asked them why they don't suggest losw carb for Gerd, depression and anxiety. They said most paitents aren't as compliant as I am so if they were there would be fewer diseases.

[Bella]

Hey Mary you are back already.
How ya doing?

[MaryMary]

Hey Bella, i am at my DD's recuperating. Monday we see the doc and he removes the sutures but he thinks I will have good results. We will see.

I have no desire to rush out and do my arms and breasts. Maybe this time next year. My spelling is awful and I apologize for the typos above.

[becky123abc]

I relate to this thread...so very much. I feel like there are two people living in my body...the one that's sensible and in control and knows the right way to eat...and the other one that can only think of what would taste good right in the present moment with no regard to the effects it will have one me...and the fact that I'll never feel satisfied ...

::::::::::::sigh:::::::::::: Trying again today...hoping to stay in control. It's hard to just not hate myself sometimes...